Cigar Info
Last year, Southern Draw added a new lonsdale size to the Kudzu Lustrum line. This new size is exclusive to Cigars International, and debuted as part of their CIGARfest event in Hamburg, Pa. The Southern Draw Kudzu Lustrum Lonsdale measures 6 x 44 vitola. It uses the same blend as the rest of the line which includes a Nicaraguan medio tiempo habano seed wrapper, Nicaragua‘s Ometepe criollo 98 binder and Nicaraguan fillers.
This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers' scores with outliers removed. All of our cigars reviewed are shipped to the panelists with Boveda packs to ensure optimal smoking experience.
Like all Southern Draw cigars, the Kudzu Lustrum Lonsdale is rolled at AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A. Each cigar has an MSRP of $10.89 and comes in boxes of 12. Only15,000 cigars (1,250 boxes) were made. The vitola for this particular release was chosen because Robert Holt wanted to use some of the smaller wrapper leaves they had that wouldn’t fit on the larger sizes.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Lonsdale
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 44
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaragua Habano (Medio Tiempo)
Binder: Nicaragua (Criollo 98)
Filler: Nicaragua
Factory: AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A.
Blender: Robert Holt
Number of reviewers: 5 – Mickey T. (irratebass) Quinn (quinnpins269) Kevin A. (Kevin A.) Jason H. (Jokey Smurf) John A. (Bostoneo)
Price: $10.89
Age: 3 Months
Release Date: October 2021
Contributed by: Southern Draw Cigars
Initial Impressions – Southern Draw Kudzu Lustrum Lonsdale
Appearance: 92
“Nicely done box-pressed Corona Gorda sized cigar. Very oil dark brown wrapper with invisible seams. There is just a little bit of tooth to the wrapper, as well as some mild dark brown mottling. There are small raised veins running throughout, but otherwise, the surface of the cigar is smooth. The cigar is very firm foot to cap, with no soft spots leading me to believe it is very well filled.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
Aroma: 90
“Medium-bodied notes of brown sugar, earth, and black pepper deliver a pleasant mouthful with a cold draw. Great leather notes dominate the nose from this unlit sampler, simply amazing.” –John A. (Bostoneo)
First Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“This cigar starts off with loads of black cherry and chocolate, with an almost syrupy sweetness on the finish. Retrohale has a solid black pepper burn to it, but not an overpowering one. It actually matches up well with the flavors in the main profile. Getting about an inch in, more spice develops on the tongue, that reminds me of Dr. Pepper soda, it is all spice with a mineral note on the finish. Adding that to the black cherry, chocolate sweetness and this is a very enjoyable start to the cigar! Burn is just a little lopsided but not in touch-up territory, while the draw is just a little open to me.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
“In the first couple of puffs after toasting the foot, I was hit with creamy chocolate notes similar to the pre-light aroma coming off of the wrapper. They lasted most of the way through the first third. As the chocolate faded hints of white pepper replaced it. The white pepper never became overpowering, it stayed quite mellow. The draw was what I would consider just right. Each puff brought a nice amount of light wispy smoke with it.” –Quinn (quinnpins269)
Second Third
Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“Moving into the second third, more meaty leathery notes in a medium-full format continue to please. Moving further in, the cocoa powder adds further complexity to the profile as some charred notes begin to rear their head towards the end.” –John A. (Bostoneo)
“The flavors in the second portion have taken a bit of a turn for the worse and become much hotter and bitter as a result. The earth has remained but is dirtier than before and the wonderful compost flavors have gone entirely. Also gone is the cedar finish, unfortunately leaving my palate contemplating a charred wood flavor that is not entirely pleasant. Surprisingly the smoke is slightly less sharp through the nose, letting me retrohale more frequently.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Final Third
Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“The spice has ramped up a bit at the beginning of this final third, but still continuing on with the same flavor profile. Spice has simmered down and I’m being treated with more tea flavors now, which is way more enjoyable.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“The final third clocks in with a medium-full profile of leather, charred oak, and black pepper, leaving a tingling sensation in the mouth. This profile continues until the very end and never sours or becomes harsh.” –John A. (Bostoneo)
Overall Impressions – Southern Draw Kudzu Lustrum Lonsdale
Draw: 90
“Being that this cigar was box pressed, it had a great draw and I never encountered any tight spots or issues.” –Quinn (quinnpins269)
Burn: 90
“Burn was great from beginning to end. It never needed to be touched up and I felt that it never burned too quickly.” –Quinn (quinnpins269)
Construction: 90
“The cigar looked great and started out phenomenal. The wonky burn and loose draw were definite detractors.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
Experience Overall: 89
“Overall this was a good cigar. It was not very complex but did give me plenty of spice, wood, clove, tea, and a very few cream and nut flavors. Sadly the cigar was a pretty much one-trick pony. So if you are looking for something new that you haven’t had before look elsewhere, but if you’re looking for a cigar to smoke where you really don’t have to think about this may be for you, just remember to have your lighter nearby.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“The lonsdale is one of my favorite vitolas to smoke. So I was very excited to have this cigar. I did enjoy the profile overall, but it kind of left me wanting more towards the end. I would reach for this one again to see if I had a similar experience though.” –Quinn (quinnpins269)
“For a cigar that started out as good as this one did, to have the finish it did was a major disappointment. It is rare that I am overly critical of a cigar, but I just didn’t care for this one. If it would have been linear and kept the notes from early on it would have been a whole different story. I probably won’t revisit this one.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
“With the exception of the middle portion, I was pleased with the experience. There were periods of very nice flavor and this would be enough for me to revisit this in the future. There was some power in this one so beginners beware…drink a beverage and you’ll probably be fine. Overall this was a nice way to finish an evening.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
“Overall this was a solid smoke. A great medium/medium-full profile provided plenty of great flavors, mainly various leather and earth notes. Construction was top-notch as this cigar smoked like a dream, delivering maximum enjoyment! Try this out, even if you don’t like stronger smokes, this one is one you’d probably love.” –John A. (Bostoneo)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 64
| Reviewer | Appear. | Aroma | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Draw | Burn | Constr. | Overall Experience |
| Mickey T. | 85 | 85 | 88 | 87 | 88 | 85 | 83 | 85 | 88 |
| Quinn | 90 | 90 | 90 | 87 | 88 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 88 |
| Kevin A. | 92 | 88 | 90 | 87 | 78 | 85 | 85 | 88 | 85 |
| Jason H. | 92 | 95 | 92 | 85 | 90 | 92 | 95 | 92 | 90 |
| John A. | 92 | 92 | 90 | 90 | 88 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 90 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.